The jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Nima Momeni, the man accused of stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee to death in April 2023.
That verdict will be read in a San Francisco courtroom on Tuesday morning.
Jurors have been deliberating on whether to convict Momeni of murder — or a lesser charge — for nearly seven days. They came to their decision today behind closed doors this afternoon, and jurors left around 4 p.m. after attorneys on both sides were called to receive the news.
The trial began on Oct. 14. Jurors have the option to unanimously convict or acquit Momeni of first-degree murder. If they chose to acquit him, they were instructed by the judge to consider second-degree murder, then voluntary manslaughter, then involuntary manslaughter. If he is convicted of either murder charge, he could face up to life in prison.
Deliberations had dragged on. On Thursday, tensions appeared to be rising among the 12-member jury, with one juror wringing their hands and apparently wiping away tears during a break in the courthouse hallway.
Momeni is charged with murdering Lee, a well-known tech executive, on a darkened street near the Bay Bridge after the two men left Momeni’s sister’s home at Millennium Tower. Prosecutors say Momeni lured Lee there intending to kill him, and brought along a kitchen knife from his sister’s kitchen.
Momeni, meanwhile, has argued self-defense.
Momeni and Lee were seen leaving in Momeni’s white BMW around 2 a.m. on April 4, 2023 on surveillance cameras. Soon after, blurry camera footage shows the two standing outside the BMW on Main Street, and Momeni apparently lunging at Lee, though it is unclear what is happening.
The two men then separated, with Lee walking down the street and later calling 911, and Momeni driving away from the scene in his car.
Lee was found bleeding out with three stab wounds, one through his heart. Momeni, who testified in his own defense that Lee attacked him first with a knife, said he had no idea Lee was injured until he read about Lee’s death in the news.
The deliberations lasted far longer than anticipated, with jurors choosing to stay past their hard end-date last week to continue discussing the case.
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